Goalzone

Every October, in honor of breast cancer awareness, scholastic girls teams host a home game which they call a "Pink Out," where athletes, spectators, even officials, wear pink uniforms in an effort to raise money to seek a cure and educate young ladies about the disease.

Wednesday, the Pomperaug High field hockey team took a cue from Pink Out events, and added a twist: This time the color was purple, the disease was epilepsy, and the focus was on a 12 year-old girl who lives in the community.

Sarah Fradkin, a seventh grader at Rochambeau Middle School, was diagnosed with epilepsy six years ago. She has tried nearly 20 medications and underwent double brain surgery in 2011, but nothing has brought her seizures under control. Wednesday alone she suffered through more than 100 seizures.

More than 3,000,000 Americans suffer from epilepsy. The disease claims the lives of 60,000 people each year, and that is 20,000 more than even breast cancer.

Clearly, we all need to know more.

The Fradkin family have been tireless fundraisers for research. They raised $140,000 in what they called the S4 Epilepsy Walk last June. Wednesday, though, was not about fundraising. It was about educating.

"It is about creating awareness, and letting people know what it is," Sarah Fradkin said about the night her honor. "If we create talk, it will help."

It was a winning day too for the Panthers (6-5-0-2). Pomperaug received a goal in first half from Morgan McMinn, and one in the second from Amanda Silk, and defeated Bethel, 2-0. The Panthers have now won three of their last four games. Abby Dolan got the shutout for Pomperaug. She faced just one shot.

"This is what we've been working towards doing," Silk said about the Bethel win. "We were moving the ball, we were talking, communicating, and the encouragement was there. We are all shooting for the same thing."

McMinn talked about the event that surrounded the game.

"We all know that breast cancer is very important, but we thought we'd change it up and do something local, for Sarah," McMinn said. "She's the sweetest girl, and it is great to give to the community, and do all we can for her."

The idea for epilepsy awareness came from Pomperaug first-year field hockey coach, Anne Strobel. She was a summer camp director when she first met Sarah.

"For someone that young, it is hard to see them with that struggle every day," Strobel said. "To play for breast cancer is nice, but now we actually have someone local. When I first met the Fradkin family I didn't know anything about epilepsy. It is nice to open some eyes and raise awareness that it is out there."

And by the way coach, any thoughts on your team?

"We are starting to gel," Strobel said. "I told them that you don't want to be the best in your first game. The last game we play should be our best game."

It was a grand purple night in Southbury. The Panthers won a field hockey game, and a few more people learned about a terrible disease that rarely gets a headline.

What do you know about epilepsy? If you're like me, you know nothing. Here's a great place to learn: www.s4epilepsywalk.com. The Fradkin family set up this remarkable website to tell Sarah's story, educate everyone about the disease, and also publicize their fundraising efforts.

If you have a moment, check out the video produced by the family to illustrate the ordeal of living with epilepsy. It is a informative, moving, and heartbreaking. It might have you thinking what I'm thinking: That we need a few more purple nights so that everyone learns more about a terrible disease that gets very little attention.

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